


Icy

by Sohotthateveryonedied



Series: Whumptober 2019 [19]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Pre-Relationship, Prompt: Trembling, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-25 00:04:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21108209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohotthateveryonedied/pseuds/Sohotthateveryonedied
Summary: Wally and Artemis fall into one of Mr. Freeze's traps, and unlike Wally—who's got speedster perks—Artemis is slowly freezing to death.





	Icy

**Author's Note:**

> Day 20: Trembling

Ice villains are the worst. Captain Cold, Killer Frost, the Icicles...all jerkfaces when they’re in a bad mood.  
  
The room (freezer? probably a freezer) that Wally and Artemis are trapped in has been steadily dropping in temperature for the past hour, and Wally doubts it’s going to let up anytime soon. Because Mr. Freeze is—big shocker here—a huge jerkface.  
  
Artemis hasn’t stopped shivering since they first got thrown in here. Her cropped uniform leaves her arms and torso completely vulnerable to the icy temperature, and goosebumps prickle on every inch of exposed skin.  
  
Wally can’t help but feel terrible every time she shivers, wishing they could trade places. Because unlike Artemis, Wally is a meta. Due to his speed and metabolism, Wally’s got no problem being in the cold like this. A bit chilly, maybe, but otherwise he’s fine.  
  
Artemis is not fine.  
  
The room is small, but upon being tossed in the pair quickly put as much distance between themselves as possible—poised at opposite corners like a cage match. Artemis is curled up with her knees against her chest and her arms pulled in tight, trying to conserve what body heat she can. A while ago she’d dropped her hair from its ponytail, taking whatever cover she could get.  
  
So far it’s done nothing.  
  
Wally’s eyes are on her, watching as her numb fingers tremble where they grip her upper arms. “You okay?” His breath fogs in front of his mouth.  
  
“F-Fine.”  
  
Wally’s fingernails tap-tap-tap the floor. “I’m...sure the team will find us soon. They’re probably grappling with Freeze as we speak.”  
  
“Yep.” Her eyelids are droopy, her blinks slowing, and Wally knows that’s a bad sign. How long does it take for hypothermia to set in for normal humans? Wally knows _ he’ll _ survive, but how long will Artemis?  
  
After a moment of thought, Wally gets up and crawls the few yards to her side of the room. “W-What are you doing?” she asks, sending a weak glare.  
  
Up close he can see that her lips are blue. “You’re freezing.” Her cheeks and nose are matching shades of red.  
  
“I’m fine. B-Beat it.”  
  
“Come on, I’m like a heat generator.” He sits against the wall beside her, not touching but close enough that hopefully some of his body heat reaches her. His shoulder is a centimeter from brushing hers.  
  
Artemis’ shivers don’t stop, but there’s a new slouch to her shoulders as the slight warmth starts to soak in. He can’t tell if it’s because she’s comforted by the reprieve, or if the hypothermia is making her doze. He sincerely hopes it’s the former.  
  
Wally chews his lip, gaze set on the gray metal wall across from them. “The team will come for us.”  
  
“You k-keep saying that.” Her fingertips are stiff and red, and without thinking Wally reaches over and takes one of her hands. She pulls back at first, but then Wally gently vibrates his fingers, trying to coax warmth back into her extremities. If nothing else, at least he can be helpful by keeping her from getting frostbite.  
  
Artemis sighs and stops fighting, and after a moment Wally takes her other hand as well. Tries to warm her up as best he can.  
  
But Artemis is still freezing, and Wally only hopes they get out of this before it gets drastic. “H-How long’s it—it been?” she asks. Her teeth click on every chatter, like porcelain shards.  
  
“A little over an hour, I think.”  
  
She huffs what might pass for a chuckle, but it’s weak. “That’s not g-good.”  
  
Wally wracks his brain for something he can do— _ anything. _ And, after a second, he comes up with an idea that’s no doubt going to get him slapped, but does he have any other option? Artemis is freezing to death.  
  
“Um,” he starts. Scoots an inch closer. “As you can probably tell, I run pretty hot. Speedster perks and all. And...well, we don’t know when the team is coming for us. It might take a while for them to get here, and I want to be a gentleman and all, but…well, you’re kind of dying.”  
  
“G-Get to the point, Wally.”  
  
He scratches the back of his neck, ears burning. “Um. I could...cuddle you? If you want?”  
  
Artemis just looks at him, her glare the only hot part of her. (Well. Temperature-wise, at least.)  
  
“You don’t have to,” Wally says quickly. “It’s just that you’ve _ definitely _ got hypothermia, and I don’t really want you freezing to death because it would suck being trapped in a freezer with a corpse like what happened with Uncle Hal’s friend’s girlfriend that one time, and—”  
  
_ “W-Wally.” _  
  
He blinks. “Yeah?”  
  
Artemis huffs a shuddering breath. “Just sh-shut up and hold me.”  
  
“Oh. Um. Yeah, I can—I can do that.” Heat rises in his cheeks. Then again, heat’s the goal here, right?  
  
Wally inches closer until his side is pressed against Artemis’, and he almost wants to flinch away. It’s like touching an ice cube. Artemis, on the other hand, shivers harder and instinctively moves closer to Wally.  
  
He slowly raises his arms and wraps them around Artemis, pulling her closer to him. “Okay?” he asks.  
  
Artemis nods frantically. She presses herself against Wally, shudders wracking her body.  
  
Wally barely moves, feeling like he’s holding a piece of glass. Not because Artemis is fragile, but because one wrong move could result in him getting cut into tiny, bite-sized pieces. He’s fairly certain the only reason she’s even allowing this right now is because the hypothermia is making her too weak to argue.  
  
Wally can’t help worrying, even when they’re settled and Artemis’ violent shivers have died down to light tremors. They might be here for a while, and this method will only keep her warm for a little while. How long can she last like this?  
  
He rubs his hands up and down her bare shoulders, vibrating them in an effort to warm her up with the friction. She’s still so cold.  
  
Wally’s never been this close to Artemis before without the situation ending in a punch or a scathing remark. This time she just shivers, and Wally wishes she would come up with a sly comment. Just for a scrap of normalcy.  
  
“Is this better?” he asks eventually.  
  
Artemis nods against his chest, holding her arms close to herself and trying to keep as much heat in her body as possible. But when minutes pass and she’s still cold to the touch, Wally knows it won’t be enough.  
  
Welp, she’s going to kill him after this anyway. Might as well go down swinging.  
  
He shifts, carefully untangling himself from Artemis. “Please don’t hit me,” he says.  
  
Before she can respond—wouldn’t be more than a mumble anyway—Wally’s pulled away from her completely. Artemis squeaks a protest, but half a second later he’s already back, this time minus the top portion of his KF suit.  
  
He draws Artemis close again, and she lets out a little gasp before sinking into the embrace, feeling the now unimpeded warmth from Wally’s body. He holds her tight, runs his hands over her skin in an effort to warm her up faster.  
  
“Th-Thanks,” she says, closing her eyes. Her shivers are already starting to die down.  
  
Wally just rests his chin on her hair, hoping the team arrives to rescue them soon. He tries not to notice how nice her hair smells, or how soft her skin feels under his fingers.  
  
Now that he thinks about it, this is the first time he and Artemis have ever hugged. Yeah it’s solely because it’s the only way to keep her from turning into an Artemisicle, but still. It’s nice.

* * *

By the time the team finds them twenty minutes later, Wally and Artemis are fast asleep—Artemis with her head pillowed on Wally’s bare chest, her breathing steady. She’s pale, but the nippy redness in her skin has subsided. Her body temperature has returned to normal, and a hint of a smile touches her lips.  
  
Wally’s cheek rests on Artemis’ hair as he holds her close, content in every way. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Feel free to mosey on down to my Tumblr!](http://sohotthateveryonedied.tumblr.com/)


End file.
